The Outdoors  by Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist I had the Black Pack Pheasant Attack group, (four seasoned black Labradors ranging in age from 2-11 years of age),  out one afternoon this week and man was it an adventure. I invited a friend that was in Nobles County for the week and we made plans to try… Read More

From Where I Sit By Pat Spilseth, Columnist Time to turn the calendar to the magical month of December. Morning stars at 6 a.m. thrill me as I walk to the mailbox for the newspaper. The moon and constellations shine so brilliantly in these dark skies of early winter. The sun is slow to rise in morning’s… Read More

Publisher’s Perspective By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune Last week we mentioned that it probably wouldn’t take long before a few ice anglers were on Lake Minnewaska going for that early ice-season bite. The lake was completely frozen over by Tuesday, but it most anglers stayed off the ice at least until Wednesday. … Read More

Stoneage Ramblings By John R. Stone With control of the governorship, state House and Senate I’m sure Democratic leaders are looking at their unique situation. They have control of the state purse strings and there is a surplus of money to deal with. Republicans, who had played hard ball last spring and put the kibosh on… Read More

Minnewaska Musings By Paul Gremmels The first snow of the year always brings with it a mixed bag of emotions. The main thing is to stay positive and look toward the future.       If you are in the minority of people who have, for example, put everything away, winterized small engines, washed windows and have… Read More

View from a Prairie Home By Hege Herfindahl, Columnist My daughter, Ingvild, lived in Gainesville, Fla., for five years while her husband, Patrick, went to graduate school there. It was traumatic for me to have her so far away and I spent every single extra penny and vacation day to fly down to see her. In retrospect,… Read More

Views from the Cab By David Tollefson, Columnist For anyone traveling on Minnesota’s highways, it’s pretty obvious what the #1 crop in the state is: CORN. But, of course, there is more than one kind of corn. Coming out of the ground until the time of tasseling, all corn looks pretty much the same. Sweet corn is… Read More

Growing Green By Robin Trott, Extension Educator ‘Tis the season for holiday plants to start blooming. Many people may wonder why their Christmas cactus is blooming at Thanksgiving or even earlier. There are actually several popular holiday cacti: the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and less familiar Easter cactus. Despite the name ‘cactus’, these plants are not from the… Read More

The Outdoors Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist I just read the 2022 state of bird report and for an outdoor enthusiast it is totally disheartening. The report concludes that “Grassland birds have suffered the biggest bird declines of any terrestrial biome since 1970… due to habitat conversion, tree and shrub encroachment and pesticide applications.” About two-thirds of… Read More

From Where I Sit By Pat Spilseth, Columnist Around the Thanksgiving table did you add your thoughts to the round robin question of “What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?” That’s been annual ritual at our family Thanksgiving, and I’m so pleased that we still continue this custom. Around the world there are so many living without… Read More